Tatjana Sekulić. 2020. The European Union and the Paradox of Enlargement: The Complex Accession of the Western Balkans, Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology). ...267 pp., ISBN: 978-3-030-42294-3
La « perspective européenne » des pays des Balkans a peu avancé depuis 2003. En cause, une stabilisation régionale inachevée, une vraie difficulté à faire aboutir les réformes internes exigées par le ...processus d’adhésion, mais aussi les contradictions et frilosités des membres de l’Union européenne. Une approche nouvelle et plus progressive devrait être adoptée par Bruxelles, qui correspondrait mieux à l’« attente européenne », toujours large, des opinions de ces pays.
The Western Balkans region holds vital strategic importance for transatlantic security. Following the collapse of the Former Yugoslavia, the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty ...Organization (NATO) have actively contributed to regional stability both in the form of peace missions and through offering the regional countries integration prospects with the transatlantic structures. Amidst years of enlargement fatigue, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has underlined the significance of the integration of the Western Balkans into the transatlantic institutions. This article examines the recent developments in the Western Balkans and analyzes the prospects for the Euro-Atlantic integration of the regional countries.
This study examines genomic prediction within 8416 Mexican landrace accessions and 2403 Iranian landrace accessions stored in gene banks. The Mexican and Iranian collections were evaluated in ...separate field trials, including an optimum environment for several traits, and in two separate environments (drought, D and heat, H) for the highly heritable traits, days to heading (DTH), and days to maturity (DTM). Analyses accounting and not accounting for population structure were performed. Genomic prediction models include genotype × environment interaction (G × E). Two alternative prediction strategies were studied: (1) random cross-validation of the data in 20% training (TRN) and 80% testing (TST) (TRN20-TST80) sets, and (2) two types of core sets, "diversity" and "prediction", including 10% and 20%, respectively, of the total collections. Accounting for population structure decreased prediction accuracy by 15-20% as compared to prediction accuracy obtained when not accounting for population structure. Accounting for population structure gave prediction accuracies for traits evaluated in one environment for TRN20-TST80 that ranged from 0.407 to 0.677 for Mexican landraces, and from 0.166 to 0.662 for Iranian landraces. Prediction accuracy of the 20% diversity core set was similar to accuracies obtained for TRN20-TST80, ranging from 0.412 to 0.654 for Mexican landraces, and from 0.182 to 0.647 for Iranian landraces. The predictive core set gave similar prediction accuracy as the diversity core set for Mexican collections, but slightly lower for Iranian collections. Prediction accuracy when incorporating G × E for DTH and DTM for Mexican landraces for TRN20-TST80 was around 0.60, which is greater than without the G × E term. For Iranian landraces, accuracies were 0.55 for the G × E model with TRN20-TST80. Results show promising prediction accuracies for potential use in germplasm enhancement and rapid introgression of exotic germplasm into elite materials.
The purpose of this article is to show Poland’s path to European Union membership from the perspective of the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Accession Treaty. Joining the Community was ...proceeded by many years of preparation and efforts. Poland had to meet many necessary requirements to finally join the ranks of the member states. The negotiations, which began on April 3, 1998, were concluded on April 16, 2003, with the signing of the Accession Treaty in Athens. In Poland, the decision was also decided by the public expressing its opinion in a referendum held on June 7–8, 2003. On July 23, 2003 the Accession Treaty was ratified, and on May 1, 2004. Poland became a member of the European Union. Poland’s entry into the European Union made it possible to take a civilizational step. Poland benefited from its presence in the EU in many dimensions, primarily political, economic and social. The benefits of Poland’s accession to the EU far outweigh the costs. This assessment is also confirmed by the opinions of citizens expressed in surveys. In June 2022, the number of supporters of Poland’s EU membership reached a record 92%.
We examine the effects of trade liberalization in China on the evolution of markups and productivity of manufacturing firms. Although these dimensions of performance cannot be separately identified ...when firm output is measured by revenue, detailed price deflators make it possible to estimate the average effect of tariff reductions on both. Several novel findings emerge. First, cuts in output tariffs reduce markups, but raise productivity. Second, pro-competitive effects are most important among incumbents, while efficiency gains dominate for new entrants. Third, cuts in input tariffs raise both markups and productivity. We highlight mechanisms that explain these findings in the Chinese context.
Today, Albania, which is a candidate country for the European Union (EU), is facing difficulties on the road to full membership. This situation has reasons related to Albania as well as the EU. This ...study aims to discuss whether the integration model of the Approach of Variable Geometric Europe can be an option for Albania, by examining those reasons. The method of the literature review was employed, and written sources were analysed in the study. There are some theoretical explanations concerning how European integration can be realized. When contributions of policy makers are examined, it is seen that flexible and differentiated integration models were suggested beside classical integration theories such as functionalism, intergovernmentalism, institutionalism, and constructivism. Academic studies, on the other hand, show that the Approach of Variable Geometric Europe constitutes a subclass of the concept of differentiated integration. This approach has importance in fast and easier integration, and in solving the problems of the countries which have serious challenges and are lagging behind the core and other member countries. Consequently, our study analysing Albania in this context, claims that the Approach of Variable Geometric Europe, as a suitable integration way, can contribute to Albania while it is struggling to overcome political and economic difficulties in its integration process.
Ramie (Boehmeria nivea) fiber exhibits excellent quality than other fibers as the alkali degumming process was carried out on two selected native Indonesian accessions which include ramie Padang 1 ...and Ramindo 1. The traditional degumming process is an effective method for the separation of fibers present in the two species as it is cheap renewable, non-toxic, easy to handle, helps in better removal of gum contents in the cell wall, and possesses unique properties with excellent potential for further utilization in textile manufacturing. The degumming effect on the fiber properties, chemical structure, crystallinity, morphological properties, thermal behavior, and mechanical aspects of the two ramie fibers was observed in this research. The method is effective for the removal of unwanted impurities like lignin, hemicellulose, extractives, and ash and for lowering the S/G ratio based on the chemical component and pyrolysis product and confirmed by FTIR spectra. In line with that, the crystallinity degree of degummed fibers tends to increase contributed by the removal of amorphous components in ramie that facilitate fiber's heat stability increase after degumming treatment. Also, the elimination of undesired components on degummed fiber creates a neat and flawless surface. In summary, the degummed ramie exhibits good potential, increasing strength, higher crystallinity, and thermal stability, as well as excellent surface morphology.
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•Different locations of maturation in the same species of ramie have minimal impact on post-degumming characteristics.•The surface of degummed ramie fibers (Ramindo and Padang) was neat and immaculate as well.•Ramie Klon Padang exhibited a noticeable increase in crystallinity after degumming (RP1 b).•The degumming methods improve the cellulose content and remove impurities.
Worldwide, great efforts are being made in order to establish sustainable development at all levels. European Union (EU) member states are obliged to meet the requirements in the area of ...environmental protection. In this paper, the authors conducted a comparative study of environmental attitudes among young people from both EU transition countries and EU candidate countries. The objective was to determine the differences in environmental attitudes, environmental awareness and self-efficacy of the youth from these two groups of countries and the EU environmental policy implementation level. Results indicated that the influence of EU membership exists when it comes to the environmental attitudes of youth from the analyzed countries. Average values showed the unsatisfactory situation regarding environmental awareness and self-efficacy of respondents. In order to define the relations among environmental attitudes, self-efficacy and environmental awareness, a structural model was created. This analysis showed that these three components work the same way in both groups of countries.
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